Turkey general election monitoring delegation, June 2011

On 12 June 2011, a group of independent observers travelled to Turkey to monitor the general elections. The observers returned with evidence of fraud and malpractice in the Southeast of the country. Even despite this, 36 representatives from the Labour, Freedom and Democracy platform, which included members of the BDP, were elected on the night, preventing an outright majority for Erdogan’s AKP government and representing a political watershed for Kurdish political representation in Turkey. Soon after the election, however, the country’s Supreme Election Board (YSK) barred Kurdish candidate Hatip Dicle from taking up his seat, an action which resulted in the remaining 35 BDP representatives boycotting the new Parliament until September 2011.

On their return, the delegates discussed their experiences at a public meeting in Portcullis House, giving attendees the opportunity to discuss the implications of the elections for the advancement of Kurdish civil and political rights. Read the meeting report.